Being part of a Search and Rescue Department involves searching for and rescuing victims of landslides or earthquakes, freeing those trapped in mangled vehicles after a road accident or saving victims trapped in rubble after a building collapse.

A large portion of their rescue efforts also concern emergencies on the water, dangerous jungle operations and most recently, leading Covid-19 disinfection operations.

“The most common misconception is that a firefighter’s role is only to put out fires.

“The Hazardous Material Unit (Hazmat) team carries out Covid-19 disinfection, the PPDA or Water Rescue Unit, deals with incidents and emergencies that occur in the water and there are many other rescue operations as well,” Senior Fire Officer II, Mohd Saiful Munir, told FMT recently.

He is a member of the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM), an elite unit that handles emergencies like landslides.

Saiful meets FMT at the impressive Shah Alam Fire and Rescue Station, where displayed smack in the middle is a huge timetable board that he says every firefighter follows religiously.

He tells FMT of his crew’s most important Key Performance Indicator or KPI – that of leaving the engine bay within 60 seconds of the alarm signalling an emergency.

“We have to leave the engine bay within 60 seconds because it takes only four minutes for a fire to spread,” says Saiful, adding that this means every firefighter is on standby every single minute he or she is on duty at the station.

Firefighters cannot predict the kind of emergencies they will encounter, so reacting instantly to the screeching bell is the most important skill to have.

Saiful says that the specialised Hazmat team is trained to deal with disinfecting premises where the coronavirus has been detected.

However, other firefighters must exercise equal caution too when dealing with other emergencies simply because there is no way of knowing if the victims they are rescuing, are Covid-19 positive or not.

“We were once called to exterminate a swarm of bees from a house. However, three of the occupants had been diagnosed by the Ministry of Health as Covid-19 positive and another four were awaiting their second swab.

“So, we wore our personal protective equipment and dealt with the bees because, after all, these people needed our help.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t have the slightest bit of fear in me because we have our families back home and a crew back at the station.”

He said that even members of their crew are treated as family, and if there is a high-risk operation to tackle, everyone in the team has to feel comfortable about the plan.

He said that if even one teammate has doubts, they will regroup to ensure everyone’s fears are considered.

“An example would be the October tragedy in which we lost six of our crew members. The therapist was surprised to find that the bond between us was so strong,” says Saiful.

If you feel inclined to become a firefighter, you’ve got to be prepared to work hard all your life, Saiful says.

Nazrin Gabra, 29, who has been a firefighter for nine years, says he had to pass a rigorous series of fitness tests, from lifting 54kg weights and raising fire ladders to climbing the ladders and scaling a five-metre rope.

However, in spite of the many harrowing challenges thrown their way every day, this tight-knit crew of firefighters do encounter the occasional humorous emergency that puts a smile on their weary faces.

Nazrin recounts the time when they received a frantic call from a man saying his wife was trapped in their house. Rushing to the scene, the crew discovered that the woman had only locked herself in the couple’s bedroom because they’d been quarrelling earlier.

“We once had a call about a rattlesnake in an aquarium. So, we were ready to expect the worse. When we got there, we made a beeline for the aquarium only to find a harmless black seahorse swimming inside,” he says.

But angry wives and black seahorses aside, the most hilarious was a call by a terrified resident about a snake coiled behind a washing machine.

Ready to tackle the slithering and potentially venomous reptile, the crew cautiously entered the house and gently pushed the washing machine aside only to discover a bunched-up pair of black underwear, Nazrin says laughing heartily.

Even a mythical “dragon” was reported as having wandered aimlessly into a person’s home, which turned out to be a baby monitor lizard.

But such is the life of a firefighter, Nazrin says.

“There are a lot of incidents like this, so yes, there are thrilling and funny aspects to being a firefighter. We can’t predict what we’re going to encounter, but we’re always there to fix people’s problems.”

“When we see the relief wash over the callers’ faces, it gives us a sense of satisfaction that cannot be put into words,” Nazrin says, smiling good-naturedly.

Here’s a big thank you to Malaysia’s unsung heroes, the firefighters!